1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal equipped with a digital camera function and, more particularly, to a technique for processing pixel array data in a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a portable electronic device, such as mobile communication terminal, digital camera, or personal digital assistant (PDA), equipped with a digital camera function includes an image sensor. As well known in the art, the image sensor contains a grid of photosensitive diodes called photosites. Each photosite records the intensity or brightness of light that falls on it by accumulating electrical charges. That is, each photosite transforms the light falling on it into electrical charges. The image sensor generates pixel array data on the basis of the position of individual pixels and the magnitude of electrical charges or voltage.
The image sensor has a fixed pixel size by its hardware structure. An image sensor for use in a typical mobile communication terminal has a pixel capacity of 1.3M (i.e., 1280×960).
A digital image captured by the mobile communication terminal may be transferred and stored in an external device such as a personal computer (PC), so that it can be displayed by the external device. However, an image sensor for use in a mobile communication terminal having a digital camera function has a relatively small pixel capacity. When any digital image is enlarged enough, pixels will begin to show—an effect called pixelization.
On the other hand, there has been recently proposed an improved digital camera technology of enlarging an image captured by the digital camera by software interpolation. However, the above-mentioned technology has a disadvantage in that the pixel array data generated from an image sensor has a fixed pixel size. Further, the above-mentioned technology uses, as source data, pixel array data with a smaller pixel size compared to that needed for the enlarged image, and enlarges the pixel array data by software only, such that the resolution of the enlarged image is markedly reduced.